A single page, a single skill
Each module teaches one writing skill in plain English, with a clear right-and-wrong example and a small reference card. Open it, work through it, close it.
An ACE Helpdesk resource · Self-study
The Academic Writing Lab
Short, interactive modules that teach academic English writing — one skill at a time. Work through a module on the page, check yourself, and download a worksheet to keep. No account, no scores, nothing tracked.
How the Lab works
A quiet, self-study path — built to collect nothing.
Practice that answers back
Four practice questions and a ranking task give instant feedback — why an answer is right or wrong — so you learn as you go. No tutor required.
You mark your own work
Every module ends with a short self-check and a “show model answers” button. Nothing is graded, nothing is submitted, nothing is scored.
Help in Japanese, where it’s hard
Genuinely difficult words carry a dotted underline. Tap one for a short note in Japanese that explains the trap — not just a translation.
The course
Seventeen modules, in four stages.
The course is a path, not a list — you walk it from the start. Stage 1, the five foundations, is built and ready now. Stages 2 to 4 are planned, and their titles may still change.
Stage 1
Foundations
Built · Ready now
The skills you need everywhere. They come up in every section of a paper. A researcher who learns only these five is already better off.
1Writing
Being cautious
Hedging — softening a claim to match the evidence. Every later module leans on this one.
2Grammar
Using articles
When to use a, an, the, or no article — the biggest error for Japanese writers, and it comes up every day.
3Style
Academic style
Formal, impersonal writing. No contractions, and no words copied straight from Japanese that do not fit.
4Cohesion
Signalling transition
The connecting words that join ideas: however, therefore, moreover. Quick to learn, used in every paragraph.
5Accuracy
Commonly confused words
affect / effect, its / it’s, comprise / consist. Quick wins that build a reader’s trust.
Stage 2
The paper spine
Planned
The moves that build the body of a paper: describing methods, reporting results, and the language each section expects.
- 6Describing methods — the passive voice and procedure language Open ›
- 7Reporting results — presenting findings clearly and cautiously
- 8Referring to figures — pointing to tables and figures in the text
- 9Defining terms — introducing and defining key concepts
Stage 3
Critical voice
Planned
Taking a position: reviewing other work, agreeing and disagreeing, and showing where a study sits among others.
- 10Reviewing the literature — summarising and grouping other studies
- 11Being critical — polite, precise disagreement
- 12Comparing and contrasting — showing similarity and difference
- 13Explaining causality — cause, effect, and correlation language
Stage 4
Finishing genres
Planned
The pieces around a paper: its opening, its close, and the shorter genres a researcher must also write.
- 14Writing introductions — opening a paper and stating the gap
- 15Writing conclusions — closing and stating contribution
- 16Writing abstracts — the compressed summary genre
- 17Emails and cover letters — correspondence with editors and peers
Prefer to work with a person?
The Lab runs quietly alongside the Helpdesk’s live coaching. When you want a second pair of eyes on your writing, book a session.
Book a Helpdesk session